[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
The PC-X900 is a stylish, all-aluminum mid-tower case from Lian Li. Let’s see if it is worthwhile paying USD 340 for it.
The first thing you will notice on the PC-X900 is that it is shorter (deep-wise) than regular mid-tower cases and also a little bit taller.
The PC-X900 is available in three different colors: black (PC-X900 B), red (PC-X900 R), or silver (PC-X900 A). We reviewed the black version.
Figure 1: Lian Li PC-X900 case
Figure 2: Lian Li PC-X900 case
The reviewed case has a big transparent acrylic window on its left-side panel. No door is present on the front panel.
There are three 5.25” bays on the front panel, and the top-most comes with a bezel for you to hide the front of your optical drive, giving a better looks to your computer. There are three 120 mm fans (Lian Li LI1221225BE-B4-C) on the front panel, cooling down the motherboard compartment. They glow blue when turned on, and use three-pin connectors, so you can monitor their speed if you connect them on your motherboard, but most likely you will want to connect them to the available speed controller, which we will talk about in the next page. They also come with adapters for you to connect them directly on the power supply. No technical specification about these fans was provided.
Figure 3: Front panel
You can easily remove the fans, as they are attached to a support that is fastened to the case using three black thumbscrews (you need to remove the lower hard drive cage to remove the front fans, though). This way you can easily clean the available washable air filters.
Figure 4: Front fans
[nextpage title=”Introduction (Cont’d)”]
On the top panel of the Lian Li PC-X900 you will find a small compartment containing four USB 3.0 ports, one eSATA port, and the audio jacks. The USB 3.0 ports use regular USB A connectors on their other end, so you will need to install them to USB 3.0 ports located on the motherboard rear panel. To pass the USB 3.0 cables to the outside of the case, you will need to use one of the expansion slots and cover it with a special cover that comes with the product. If your motherboard doesn’t have four USB 3.0 ports on its rear panel, you can use two internal USB 2.0 ports of your motherboard, using the provided adapter.
Figure 5: Connectors
Figure 6: Rear plate for routing the USB 3.0 cables outside the case and adapter to use a USB 2.0 header
On its bottom panel, the PC-X900 comes with an air filter matching the vents used by the power supply.
Figure 7: Bottom panel
The rear panel features another two 120 mm fans, identical to the ones available on the front panel. Both work pulling hot air from inside the computer to the outside, with the top fan cooling down the upper hard drive bay, while the bottom fan cools down the motherboard compartment.
The PC-X900 features seven expansion slots, which come with vented slot covers. Two holes protected with rubber covers for liquid cooling solutions are available. The power supply goes at the bottom of the case, and it is attached to an aluminum frame.
Figure 8: Rear panel
The product comes with a four-channel analog fan controller, with the potentiometer available at the rear panel. This controller comes with two Y-splitters installed, so you can control all the five fans with this controller, but they will all spin at the same speed. Unfortunately the manufacturer doesn’t publish the speed range this controller is capable of generating. Also, for a case in this price range, we would be happier if it included individual controllers for each fan.
Figure 9: Fan speed controller
Let’s now take a look inside the Lian Li PC-X900.
[nextpage title=”Inside the Lian Li PC-X900″]
The side panels of the PC-X900 are removed by unscrewing a thumbscrew and then pulling the tab where the screw is located. The left-side tab comes with a hole for you to install a padlock or a warranty seal.
Figure 10: Opening system
In Figure 11, you can see inside the Lian Li PC-X900. The interior of the case is divided into two compartments. On the top of the case we have the 5.25” bays and the upper hard drive cage, while on the bottom of the case we have the motherboard tray. The top compartment is cooled by the top rear fan, while the bottom compartment is cooled by the other four fans.
The motherboard tray has a big hole around the area where the CPU is installed, allowing access to the backplate of the CPU cooler, so you can replace the cooler without having to remove the motherboard. The motherboard tray has several holes, allowing you to easily route and hide cables behind the tray.
Figure 11: Overall look
Figure 12: A view behind the motherboard tray
[nextpage title=”Inside the Lian Li PC-X900 (Cont’d)”]
The case comes with strong, individual, screwless fastening mechanisms for expansion cards. In fact, the mechanisms used in the PC-X900 (and in the PC-X2000F, as they are the same) are the best we’ve seen to date.
Figure 13: Overall look
This case supports video cards up to 12” (305 mm) long, which is not bad at all for a case that is not as deep as regular mid-tower cases.
The product comes with a special bracket to hold the power supply in place, just like the PC-X2000F. The power supply compartment supports power supplies up to 7.9” (200 mm) long (or up to 12"/305 mm if you remove the bottom hard drive cage). In the PC-X900 you can install the power supply with its bottom fan facing up or facing down, so you will have to decide if you want the power supply to be pulling cool air from outside the case (fan facing down) or hot air from inside the motherboard compartment (fan facing up).
Figure 14: Power supply compartment
Figure 15: Power supply installed
[nextpage title=”The Disk Drive Bays”]
The Lian Li PC-X900 comes with three 5.25” external bays. The top-most bay cover has an aluminum retractable bezel for you to install your optical drive behind it, this way the “face” of your optical drive won’t be appearing, improving your computer aesthetics. The top two bays come with screwless installation mechanisms, but you will have to use regular screws (the case comes with a set of black thumbscrews) on the bottom 5.25” bay. The bottom 5.25” bay comes also with an adapter for you to install an external 3.5” device, such as a floppy disk drive, memory card reader, or fan controller.
Figure 16: Top hard drive cage and 5.25” bays
This case comes with two hard drive cages, both removable. One is located at the top of the case and supporting four 3.5” hard drives (see Figure 16), and the other one is located at the bottom of the case, supporting three 3.5” hard drives (see Figure 17). All of them have anti-vibration mechanisms, and hard drives are installed using black thumbscrews. Unfortunately this case doesn’t come with bays for 2.5” devices.
Figure 17: Bottom hard drive cage
In Figure 18, you can see all accessories that come with this case.
Figure 18: Accessories
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
The main specs for the Lian Li PC-X900 case include:
- Style: Mid-tower
- Application: ATX and smaller form factors derived from this one
- Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
- Available colors: Black, red, or silver
- Material: Aluminum
- Side panel: Transparent
- Dimensions: 23.5 x 9 x 15.3 inches (598 x 230 x 388 mm) (H x W x D)
- Net weight: 19 lbs (8.8 kg)
- Gross weight: 23 lbs (10.6 kg)
- Bays: Three external 5.25” bays, one external 3.5” bay (converted from one 5.25” bay), and seven internal 3.5” bays
- Expansion slots: Seven
- Maximum video card length: 12” (305 mm)
- Maximum CPU cooler height: NA
- Fans: Three 120 mm fans on the front panel and two 120 mm fans on the rear panel, fan speed controller
- Optional fans: None
- More Information: https://www.lian-li.com
- Average Price in the US*: USD 340.00
* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
The Lian Li PC-X900 is a case that will probably have its audience, but at USD 340 it is too expensive for what it is and we simply can’t recommend it. If you are looking for a stylish, full of features, all-aluminum case, there are better options on the market, such as the SilverStone Fortress FT02.
Strong Points
- Top-notch material
- Air filter for the front fans
- Air filter for the power supply fan
- Seven internal 3.5” bays will be more than enough even for the most hardcore user
- Anti-vibration rings for the hard drives
- Holes with rubber covers for liquid cooling solutions
- A hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
- Holes on the motherboard tray for routing and hiding cables behind the tray
- eSATA port
- Four USB 3.0 ports
- Fan speed controller
- Top-notch screwless mechanism for fastening expansion cards to the case
Weak Points
- Very expensive
- No individual fan speed controllers
- No 2.5” bays
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